Mobile unit for applying fluids on large surfaces, in particular floor surfaces

ABSTRACT

A mobile unit for applying fluids, such as paint, on large surfaces, in particular floor surfaces, comprises a number of spraying means (14) mounted in a casing (7). The spraying means are surrounded by an encircling shielding (9). The casing (7) has an opening exposed towards a fluid application surface. In the unit there is an air evacuating device (21) having the task of providing a flow of air into the interior of the casing (7) from an air gap established between the application surface and a free edge (16) of the shielding, so as to minimize the emission of particles from the unit to the surroundings in connection with the application of fluid onto the surface.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

In a first broad aspect the present invention relates to a mobile unitfor applying fluids on large surfaces. In a closer aspect the inventionrelates to a unit for painting in particular floor surfaces.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the paintwork technique it occurs that large coating surfaces arere-painted at short intervals. This is for instance the case in studiopremises for filming purposes. Film-directors in charge sometimes desirea certain color on the floor of the room and sometimes quite anothercolor; all depending on the character of the current film production.This means that the service staff which are responsible for the indoorpicture may have to repaint the floor of the room at short intervals,since repainting has to be carried out not only between the productionof different movies, but also between different sequences in one and thesame movie. As the floor surfaces of the studio premises can amount tomany hundreds of square meters or more, it is realized that the paintingwork is extremely burdensome when it has to be carried out manually ashitherto customary, either by means of brushes/rollers or alternativelyby means of spray nozzles held by hand.

OBJECTS AND FEATURES OF THE INVENTION

In its closer aspect the present invention aims at providing a mobilepainting unit by means of which the painting of large surfaces, such asthe floor surfaces of a studio premise, can be facilitated and renderedmore effective. Accordingly, a primary object of the invention is toprovide a unit which is capable of applying paint swiftly andefficiently on large surfaces without giving rise to environmentalinconveniences in the surroundings of the unit. Thus, the unit accordingto the invention shall make it possible to apply paint of e.g. an indoorcoating surface without giving rise to troublesome air pollutions in theenvironment. A further object of the invention is to provide a unitwhich can be driven along the coating surface in question in a mannerwhich is comfortable and ergonomically appropriate for the operator. Inits broader aspect the invention also aims at providing a unit forapplying other arbitrary fluids than paint on a selected surfaceirrespective of whether this is a floor surface or another substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ATTACHED DRAWINGS IN THE DRAWINGS:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first unit according to the invention,integrated with a motor-driven vehicle, and

FIG. 2 a partly cut schematic perspective view of a second, developedembodiment of a unit according to the invention, likewise integratedwith a motor-driven vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIG. 1 a fluid application unit according to the invention isgenerally designated 1. Is accordance with a preferred embodiment of theinvention this unit is built up on a wheeled and motor-driven vehiclegenerally designated 2. In the example the vehicle is a three-wheelerincluding a driver's seat 3, a front-mounted steering wheel 4 forcontrolling the single front wheel 5' of the vehicle (the two rearwheels of the vehicle are designated 5") as well as an electric motorwhich is enclosed in a box under the driver's seat and by means of whichthe vehicle can be driven in a conventional manner. The necessary powersupply may be provided through a swivelled cable (not shown) which issupported by a post 6 mounted behind the driver's seat. It is, however,also possible to use batteries for the power supply of the motor.

The unit 1 is preferably mounted at the rear end of the vehicle 2. Theexternally visible components included in the unit 1 of the embodimentaccording to FIG. 1 consist of a casing generally designated 7, whichcomprises a substantially horizontal plate 8 forming a frame as well asa shielding or border generally designated 9 which projects downwardlyfrom said frame plate. On top of the frame plate 8 a housing 10 ismounted in the interior of which an air evacuating device in the form ofa suction fan is arranged. Visible in FIG. 1 are furthermore a pump 11,a compressor 12 and an air distributor 13. The pump and the compressorare parts of an equipment for feeding paint to a number of paintspraying means or nozzles mounted within the casing 7, said equipmentbeing known per se or of an arbitrary type.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2 which in detail illustrates the interiorof the casing 7 and the housing 10, more particularly in an embodimentdesignated 1' which is further developed in relation to the embodimentof FIG. 1. As seen from FIG. 2 the unit according to the inventionincludes a suitable number of spraying means 14, in this case three, bymeans of which paint can be sprayed onto the floor surface present belowthe unit. The spraying means 14 are fixedly mounted within the casing 7,more particularly on a support 15 which may be in the form of a tube andwhich is in a suitable manner fixedly mounted in relation to the frame8, which in turn is in a suitable manner firmly connected to the chassisof the vehicle 2. From the frame 8 consisting e.g. of a horizontal metalsheet, the shielding 9 projects downwardly and is terminated by a bottomedge designated 16. This shielding 9 is endless or extends round aboutthe casing and may in practice be made of plates or plate sections ofwhich a rear section may be pivotally connected to the frame and lockedrelative to the side plates by means of locking means 17. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 2 the shielding 9 is square-shaped (rectangularor alternatively quadrangular) while forming four distinctly developedcorners. In this preferred embodiment the shielding is divided into anupper part 9 consisting of metal sheets or metal sheet sections firmlyconnected to the frame plate 8 and a bottom part 9' which isdemountable, i.e. removable, from the upper part. For this purposedownwardly projecting pins 18 are attached to the four corners of theshielding. These pins form attachments for a surrounding band whichforms the bottom part 9' of the shielding. In practice this band can bemade of fabric or another flexible material which can be stretchedaround the corner pins 18 and held in place by means of suitable fixingmembers 19 easy to disengage.

Within the casing 7 jointly formed by the frame plate 8 and theshielding 9 one or more air cleaning filters 20 are arranged. Moreparticularly these filters 20 are located in the area above the paintspraying means 14. In practice the filters may be in the form ofexchangeable cassettes having a filter material of a conventional orarbitrary type, i.e. a fiber mass or a layer of granules.

In the housing mounted on top of the casing 7 a fan 21 schematicallyshown, is included. The fan is placed in the vicinity of an aperture 22recessed in the frame plate 8, said aperture allowing communicationbetween the fan and the interior of the casing 7. On top of the housing10 there is furthermore a second filter 23 which in this case is in theform of a bag detachably connected to the housing, the walls of the bagbeing permeable to air. Thus, the filter bag 23 is preferably made ofone or more fibrous materials which can, on one hand, let through airand, on the other hand, trap even utterly small solid or liquidparticles accompanying the air being evacuated from the interior of thecasing 7 by means of the fan. The lower ends of the corner pins 18 andaccordingly the bottom edge 16 of the shielding are, according to theinvention, located at a certain level above the wheelbase of thevehicle, meaning that an air gap is formed between the bottom edge 16 ofthe restricting shielding and the underlying floor when the unit ismoved along the floor. In practice this air gap may have a height withinthe range of 5 to 50, preferably 10 to 20 millimeters.

The unit described operates in the following manner. By means of thecompressor and the pump paint is fed from a store tank to the variousnozzles or spraying means 14 which spray paint on the underlying floorwhen the unit, by means of the vehicle, is moved along the same. The fan21 maintains at the same time an upwardly directed air stream throughthe unit. More particularly air is sucked into the interior of thecasing 7 through the air gap between the bottom edge 16 of the shieldingand the floor, and is brought to pass the filter unit 20 above thespraying means 14. In this filter unit 20 at least a rough purificationof the air is carried out. The purified air leaving the filter unit 20is thereafter finally cleaned in the fine filter 23 which separates evenutterly fine particles perchance accompanying the air after the passageof the filter unit 20. By the fact that an air stream directed into theinterior of the casing 7 is always maintained by means of the fan 21 assoon as the spraying means 14 are put into operation, any risk for theemission of paint or liquid in the surroundings of the unit is avoidedwhen the unit is moved along the coating surface.

Conceivable modifications of the invention

Of course the invention is not limited merely to the embodimentsdescribed above and shown in the drawings. Thus it is conceivable tomake the unit mobile in other ways than by mounting the same on awheeled vehicle of the type exemplified. Instead of fixedly mounting theunit on the vehicle it is also possible to mount the same adjustablymovable to various positions relative to the vehicle, e.g. by connectingthe unit to the vehicle via a turning device which allows turning of theunit relative to the vehicle. In the latter case the unit mayaccordingly also be used for painting of other surfaces than anunderlying floor, e.g. vertical wall surfaces. It should also beemphasized that the unit according to the invention may be utilized forthe application of other arbitrary fluids than paint irrespective ofwhether the fluids are liquids or powders.

I claim:
 1. A mobile unit for spraying paint onto a large surfacecomprising:at least one paint spraying means mounted within a casing forthe spraying of said paint onto said surface and surrounded by anencircling shielding included therein, said casing having an openingexposed towards said surface and at least one air evacuating deviceproviding airflow into the interior of the casing from an air gapestablished between said surface and a free edge of said shieldingwhereby the emission of particles from the unit to the surroundings isminimized in connection with the application of fluid on said surface.2. The mobile unit as set forth in claim 1, wherein said air evacuatingdevice comprises a suction fan which is mounted in said casing fordrawing air through said casing via said opening for releasing the samethrough an outlet from said casing.
 3. The mobile unit as set forth inclaim 1, wherein said casing includes at least one filter arrangedwithin said casing between said spraying means and said air evacuatingdevice for purifying the air before it passes said air evacuatingdevice.
 4. The mobile unit as set forth in claim 2, wherein said casingincludes at least one filter arranged within the casing between saidspraying means and said air evacuating device for purifying the airbefore it passes said air evacuating device.
 5. The mobile unit as setforth in claim 4, wherein said mobile unit includes at least one secondfilter mounted in spaced relation to said air evacuating device.
 6. Themobile unit as set forth in claim 1, wherein said shielding has a freeedge and includes of at least one fixed plate and at least one bandremovably mounted thereto, an edge portion of said band forming saidfree edge of said shielding directed towards said surface.
 7. The mobileunit as set forth in claim 2, wherein said shielding has a free edge andincludes at least one fixed plate and at least one band removablymounted thereto, an edge portion of said band forming said free edge ofsaid shielding directed towards said surface.
 8. The mobile unit as setforth in claim 3, wherein said shielding has a free edge and includes atleast one fixed plate and at least one band removably mounted thereto,an edge portion of said band forming said free edge of said shieldingdirected towards said surface.
 9. The mobile unit as set forth in claim4, wherein said shielding has a free edge and includes at least onefixed plate and at least one band removably mounted thereto, an edgeportion of said band forming said free edge of said shielding directedtowards said surface.
 10. The mobile unit as set forth in claim 5,wherein said shielding has a free edge and includes at least one fixedplate and at least one band removably mounted thereto, an edge portionof said band forming said free edge of said shielding directed towardssaid surface.
 11. The mobile unit as set forth in claim 6, wherein saidband is removably mounted on pins, said pins projecting downwardly fromsaid at least one fixed plate.
 12. The mobile unit as set forth in claim1, in combination with a motor-driven vehicle.
 13. The mobile unit asset forth in claim 12, wherein said casing of said mobile unit isrigidly connected to said vehicle.